About The

SOUTHERN UTE TRIBE

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe located in the Southwest part of Colorado. The reservation is home to Sky Ute Casino and Resort, Southern Ute Government Headquarters, and the Southern Ute Museum and Cultural Center.

OUR PEOPLE & History

The Ute people are the oldest residents of Colorado. According to tribal
history handed down through generations, Ute people have inhabited vast areas of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Eastern Nevada, Northern New Mexico, and
Arizona. The Ute civilization had a common language among the original 14 Ute bands,
shared values, a core set of political practices, and a highly developed society for
generations before the first Europeans came to North America. The language of the Utes
is Shoshonean, a dialect of the Uto-Aztecan language.

Today, the Southern Ute Tribe is composed of two traditional Ute bands, the Mouache
and the Caputa. There are approximately 1,400 members of the tribe.

OUR LANDS

The Southern Ute reservation covers more than 1,064 square miles in three counties (La Plata, Archuleta, and Montezuma). It consists of high mountains with elevations over 9,000 feet in the eastern portion and flat arid mesas in the west. Seven rivers run through the reservation, the Piedra, San Juan, Florida, La Plata, Animas, Navajo, and Los Pinos.

OUR GOVERNMENT

The tribe is governed by a seven-member Tribal Council elected by the Tribal
membership. Tribal government is based on a Tribal Constitution, which was adopted on
November 4, 1936, and revised in September 1975. The tribe strives to provide strong
social welfare and education programs while also emphasizing the importance of the
traditional way of Ute life.